Ohio State Opens as 6.5-Point Favorite Over USC

Ohio State has opened as a 6.5-point favorite over USC in this month’s Cotton Bowl.

The 6.5-point number has already shown up at multiple sportsbooks, so it will be interesting to see how it moves as the public places their wagers.

The Cotton Bowl is slated for Friday December 29, and pits the No. 5 Buckeyes (11-2) against the No. 8 Trojans (11-2). This is the first meeting between the two storied programs since a home-and-home in 2008 and 2009. USC was favored in both meetings, by 7 points at Ohio State in 2009, and by 12 points at home in 2008. They won both games as well.

These two teams have met in seven bowl games previously — all in the Rose Bowl — with USC winning four and Ohio State winning three.

Urban Meyer has now been favored in four of his six bowl games at Ohio State. So far they are 1-2 in those games.

Here are the closing line and results from Ohio State’s bowl games under Urban Meyer.